Homosexuals and homosexuality are natural and created by God, thus permissible within Islam, a discussion concluded here Thursday.
Moderate Muslim scholars said there were no reasons to reject homosexuals under Islam, and that the condemnation of homosexuals and homosexuality by mainstream ulema and many other Muslims was based on narrow-minded interpretations of Islamic teachings.

Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesia Conference of Religions and Peace cited the Koran's al-Hujurat (49:3) that one of the blessings for human beings was that all men and women are equal, regardless of ethnicity, wealth, social positions or even sexual orientation.
"There is no difference between lesbians and nonlesbians. In the eyes of God, people are valued based on their piety," she told the discussion organized by nongovernmental organization Arus Pelangi.
"And talking about piety is God's prerogative to judge," she added.
"The essence of the religion (Islam) is to humanize humans, respect and dignify them."
Musdah said homosexuality was from God and should be considered natural, adding it was not pushed only by passion.

Mata Air magazine managing editor Soffa Ihsan said Islam's acknowledgement of heterogeneity should also include homosexuality.
He said Muslims needed to continue to embrace ijtihad (the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the Koran and the Sunnah) to avoid being stuck in the old paradigm without developing open-minded interpretations.
Another speaker at the discussion, Nurofiah of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said the dominant notion of heterogeneity was a social construction, leading to the banning of homosexuality by the majority.
"Like gender bias or patriarchy, heterogeneity bias is socially constructed. It would be totally different if the ruling group was homosexuals," she said.
Other speakers said the magnificence of Islam was that it could be blended and integrated into local culture.
"In fact, Indonesia's culture has accepted homosexuality. The homosexual group in Bugis-Makassar tradition called Bissu is respected and given a high position in the kingdom.

"Also, we know that in Ponorogo (East Java) there has been acknowledgement of homosexuality," Arus Pelangi head Rido Triawan said.
Condemnation of homosexuality was voiced by two conservative Muslim groups, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and Hizbut Thahir Indonesia (HTI).
"It's a sin. We will not consider homosexuals an enemy, but we will make them aware that what they are doing is wrong," MUI deputy chairman Amir Syarifuddin said.
Rokhmat, of the hardline HTI, several times asked homosexual participants in attendance to repent and force themselves to gradually return to the right path.

Might I take a jab at your actual age? single digits? You may not know it but Islam is the worlds fastest growing religion and second largest behind Christianity. It also did what Christianity couldn't do, combine religion and government into a single entity.

Might I take a jab at your actual age? single digits? You may not know it but Islam is the worlds fastest growing religion and second largest behind Christianity. It also did what Christianity couldn't do, combine religion and government into a single entity.

Because you think religion is incredibly dumb and a pathetic attempt to bring people together and control other people you must be of a single digit age? That's just childish of you to assume Pacmaney.

What you must remember is that religion is a belief, and because it is a belief created by man and there is no way to prove that it is correct; it is therefore less intelligent to believe it than to not believe it.

If I said to you, "Hey, there's a monkey in a wheelchair inside the Earth's core, but I can't prove it to you." it would be stupid to believe it unless there is hard evidence to support it. Whereas if you said "prove it", and I said "prove that there is not", that is not valid; because I am the one claiming that there is.

Might I take a jab at your actual age? single digits? You may not know it but Islam is the worlds fastest growing religion and second largest behind Christianity. It also did what Christianity couldn't do, combine religion and government into a single entity.

Are you actually implying that that was a good idea, or that it's succesful?
What does the fact that Islam is the second largest religion and that it's growing fast have to do with how civilized it is?

Every Islamic person I've met has been an incredibly friendly person, I'm not suprised at this at all.

By that logic, people who have never had anything against homosexuality (most atheists) are way nicer.

Edited:

You're all acting as if every muslim in the world is suddenly okay with homosexuality, which they most certainly aren't, and as if they're very progressive. Most of the western world have been okay with homosexuality for decades now.

By that logic, people who have never had anything against homosexuality (most atheists) are way nicer.

Edited:

You're all acting as if every muslim in the world is suddenly okay with homosexuality, which they most certainly aren't, and as if they're very progressive. Most of the western world have been okay with homosexuality for decades now.

You're all acting as if every muslim in the world is suddenly okay with homosexuality, which they most certainly aren't, and as if they're very progressive. Most of the western world have been okay with homosexuality for decades now.

That's quite a big statement you made there. I am curious to know how you know all Muslims aren't for homosexuality. Also how is this not progressive? And like you said, most of the western world has. They're still many States that do not recognize gay marriage.